SAN FRANCISCO – The Los Angeles Dodgers are making every effort to protect Julio Urias’ abundant physical gifts, limiting him to no more than 90 pitches per outing and closely monitoring his innings.
Urias’ psyche?
That, he has to protect himself, and at this rate Urias must be getting the feeling he can handle this level.
In the latest stage of his extended baptism by fire, the rookie left-hander got his first exposure to the Dodgers’ longstanding rivalry with the San Francisco Giants – on the road, in front of a national TV audience and in prime time, no less.
The Giants prevailed 2-1 to extend their lead in the National League West to five games, but the enduring impression from this ESPN Sunday Night Game will be the skill and poise exhibited by a 19-year-old in his fourth major league start.
Urias was brilliant over the first five shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk until a two-run homer by Brandon Belt ended his night one out into the sixth. Urias struck out seven for the second game in a row, including Belt twice before the lefty-swinging first baseman walloped a hanging slider over the fence in right-center.
“He obviously has good stuff,’’ said Belt, who struck out on a 94 mph fastball in the first and on an 80 mph curveball in the third. “To be in the big leagues at 19 years old you have to be pretty dang good. He did a great job.’’
Urias has improved in each of his starts after allowing three runs and nine baserunners over 2 2/3 innings in his May 27 debut, when he was admittedly too pumped up.
The Dodgers, desperate for rotation help with five starters on the disabled list, have not exactly softened his landing in the majors. Urias’ first outing came in New York against the defending NL champion Mets, then he faced the team with the best record in the majors, the Chicago Cubs, at Wrigley Field, before making his home debut against the Colorado Rockies’ potent offense.
Good thing the 1927 Yankees are not on the schedule, or he might have drawn them too.
“I’m glad about the opportunity,’’ Urias (pronounced oo-REE-as) said in Spanish. “Life is not easy. You always get bigger challenges and you have to be able to overcome them to know whether you’re ready for this level.’’
Sunday marked the first time Urias got into the sixth inning, partly because of the Dodgers’ insistence on limiting him to 80-90 pitches – he threw 86 against the Giants, and Roberts said Belt was going to be his final batter regardless – but also because he’s still figuring out how to put hitters away.
Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said Urias is going through the same process three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw endured when he came up in 2008 at age 20, learning how hard major league hitters battle and what it takes to get them out.
Kershaw did not earn his first win until his 10th start, logging a 5.18 ERA through the first nine. In some ways Urias – now 0-2 with a 5.82 ERA – is a step ahead of Kershaw at the same stage.
“I think at this age Urias has a bigger arsenal than Clayton did when he first came up,’’ Honeycutt said. “Clayton was pretty much fastball, some changeups and curveballs, whereas Julio already has a slider in place and command to both sides with it, so he doesn’t mind throwing it backdoor. That was something later on in Clayton’s development.’’
Urias’ advanced feel for pitching traces back to his father, Carlos, a catcher for two years for a Mexican League farm club, and to a youth spent striving to reach the majors. Two years ago, at 17, Urias became the youngest player ever to participate in the Futures Game, and as a pro he has invariably been the youngest in his league.
Growing up in the small town of La Higuerita, just outside Culiacan in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Urias often practiced in the dirt field built amid farmland by his grandfather and other relatives.
With both sets of grandparents and numerous other relatives living in town, family gatherings were frequent, but they took a back seat to baseball for the aspiring young pitcher, who signed a pro contract with the Dodgers at 16.
“When there were family celebrations like birthdays and pinatas, if they coincided with his baseball practice, he preferred to go to practice,’’ said Carlos Urias, who works for a teachers’ union. “Sometimes we would arrive at the end of the party and scrape the last bit of food left. So he missed out on some childhood activities, but he enjoyed being out on the field and had a dream, and thank God he accomplished it.’’
There are still numerous lessons for him to learn. Besides adapting to a strike zone he has found narrower than in the minors and finding out how to go after hitters, Urias must navigate his increased visibility and celebrity.
Urias was regarded as perhaps the top pitching prospect in baseball coming into the season, and he’s playing in a city where 30% of the population has Mexican roots, giving rise to the possibility he might inspire a following along the lines of Dodgers icon Fernando Valenzuela more than three decades ago.
“He drew plenty of media attention in the minors and handled it well,’’ said Dodgers coach Juan Castro, who has told Urias’ parents he’ll look after their son. “He’s understanding and learning what’s going on around him. The expectations are very high, and it’s not easy for a 19-year-old. I think this apprenticeship is going to help him a lot for next year.’’
Urias said fans have been recognizing him around town, and when he made his first start at Dodger Stadium last Tuesday, the cheering for him was so loud, “You almost got the feeling you’re pitching in Mexico.’’
Even at AT&T Park on Sunday, fans in Giants gear yelled encouragement in Spanish while Urias was warming up before the game, proud to see how far he had come so quickly.
Where he might wind up later in the season won’t be decided right away, although manager Dave Roberts said Urias would start again Friday at home and might even have his pitch limit pushed up to 90-100.
The Dodgers expect veteran right-hander Brandon McCarthy and lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu to rejoin the rotation next month, at which time they might send Urias back to the minors for more seasoning.
Regardless, the Giants can expect to see plenty of Urias for years to come, not a happy prospect considering Kershaw already has their number. Their precociousness naturally inspires comparisons between the two lefties, but Belt couldn’t recall a young pitcher who made that kind of impression on him.
“For someone coming up at 19 to have that kind of composure and that good of stuff, it’s hard to compare him to anybody,’’ Belt said. “He seems like he’s well ahead of his years. It’s hard to throw out names like Kershaw or someone like that, but as far as stuff, he’s definitely up there.’’
